Chapter One

The sun peeks through the mountain range as it spreads its light to the forests and the fields; the start of a new day. The bells of White Willow Orphanage chimed loudly, signaling the people inside that it was time to wake up.

I heard the bells and groaned in annoyance, pulling the duvet over my head, refusing to get up. Even after spending all of my years in this orphanage, I still couldn't get used to it. The aggravating sound of the bells was something I have grown to hate with a passion.

I forced myself to go back to sleep, unbothered by it all. But suddenly, my blanket got pulled with extreme force.

"Wake up sleepy-head!"

I sat up in an instant and yells out in instinct, eyes wide with surprise. When I saw Charlotte and Matthew in front of me, I immediately grabbed the pillow behind me and chucked it at them with mock annoyance.

"Ten more minutes, please?"

They shook their head with a smile. "You know how Amelia is, she would scold you."

I pouted when I heard that. Amelia was someone I could trust my life with and one of the people who took care of the orphans here and. She was the one who took care of me ever since I was an infant and she played a big part in my life.

I sighed but nodded.

We went to the dining room where everybody gathered for breakfast. I couldn't help but smile. It was the same as ever; the children running around and the noisy chattering of everyone was what greeted me every morning.

We sat down and ate our breakfast, conversing with the other children as they did.

Right after breakfast, I headed to the meadow where Amelia trained me to master the sword, which has always been the case for seventeen years. It was to make up for the fact that I didn't have a flair. I hated how I knew I had to do this because my soul wasn't strong enough to materialize.

Once I threw Amelia off-balance with a sweep at her feet, I immediately held the tip of the sword's blade above her neck. I breathe heavily with exhaustion as my chest rose up and down. We have been duelling for two hours, and I have finally defeated her.

"You finally beat me." Amelia stands up, looking proud as she squeezed my shoulder.

'The day you defeat me will be the last day I will teach you.' Amelia once told me nine years ago. Relief came crashing down at me like the waves of the ocean when I realized I didn't have to endure this hellish training any longer.

I sat at the rock to rest, watching the meadow with my fingers interlocked. My brows were furrowed and a hundred thoughts were running through my mind.

"Can I tell you something?"

Amelia nods.

"I want to leave." I admitted.

"I've been here at this orphanage for seventeen years, stuck with the fact that my parents abandoned me. I want to go far away and forget."

Amelia looks at me with a sad expression, but she comforted me through her eyes that told me it was okay that I felt this way.

Amelia caresses her face. "And you will, my child. Patience is a virtue."

~~

Three weeks had passed, and nothing much has changed for me. I prayed to Xaronis that I could get away from the orphanage and live on my own independently.

This orphanage was only a painful reminder that I my parents never wanted me. I have learned to live with it, but the pain just can't seem to go away.

But despite my feelings, I'm grateful that I met Charlotte, Matthew, and Amelia. I was guilty that I felt this way knowing how much this orphanage has done for me. They took me in when nobody else did.

A sigh escaped my lips as I watched over the little children play at the meadows. If only I could be as happy and carefree as them.

Suddenly, the thunderous sound of a horn emanated from behind the mountains. The birds in the forest scattered towards the sky in a frenzy.

"That meant the Academy already chose the new student, right?" Matthew asked beside me.

I nod in reply. Charlotte dramatically sighed and sank her back on the grass; the back of her head resting on her palms.

"I would kill to attend Eximius Academy. I wouldn't want to get stuck in the Ebeian District doing labour work."

"You could work all your life to pay to get in and it still wouldn't be enough." Matthew laughs at Charlotte in amusement.

From what I've been taught here in the orphanage, only aristocrats could afford the costly expenses of the academy. Sure, there were other Academies in the empire but Eximius Academy was the only academy sponsored by the Royal Castle itself, which meant it really was the best of the best.

"I wonder who they chose this time?" Charlotte said.

"Surely it must be a talented flair wielder amongst the nobles." I scoff in distate. "The same damned aristocrats that look down on commoners like us."

Aristocrats and their pride. I rolled my eyes. The nobles always had a clear hatred for us, much more for the Recios. The outcasts, the powerless. And what's worse was that I was one. Although I couldn't care less about being labelled as one, I hated how I was faced with endless discrimination because of it.

"Of course they would pick one of them. With the likes of us, we could only dream about being there." Matthew laughs sarcastically.

"If only we were nobles." Charlotte sighs in disappointment.

"I would rather die than become like them." I shudder.

They both burst out laughing in agreement. A smile crept out of my lips as I laid in the grass, staring at the clear blue sky. Little did I know how chaotic my life will become.

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